WO2023068717A1

WO2023068717A1 - Fire prevention device and operation method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2023068717A1
Application number: PCT/KR2022/015799
Authority: WO
Inventors: 박한곤; 박원석
Original assignee: 주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션
Priority date: 2021-10-20
Filing date: 2022-10-18
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Also published as: KR20230056280A; EP4318007A1; CN117280228A; JP2024518907A

Abstract

A fire prevention device according to one embodiment disclosed in the present document may comprise: a switch connected to a first line of a battery; a variable resistor connected to the switch; a fuse which is connected to a second line between the battery and a device receiving power from the battery, and in which current flows through the variable resistor when the switch is shorted; a sensor which senses information on fire in the battery; and a control unit which determines whether or not fire occurs in the battery on the basis of the information on the fire in the battery, and controls the switch and the variable resistor on the basis of the determination as to whether or not fire occurs in the battery.

Description

Fire prevention device and its operation method

Mutual Citation with Related Applications

The present invention claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0140130 filed on October 20, 2021, and includes all contents disclosed in the literature of the Korean patent application as part of this specification.

technology field

Embodiments disclosed in this document relate to a fire prevention device and its operating method.

Recently, research and development on secondary batteries have been actively conducted. Here, the secondary battery is a battery capable of charging and discharging, and includes all of the conventional Ni/Cd batteries, Ni/MH batteries, and recent lithium ion batteries. Among secondary batteries, lithium ion batteries have the advantage of much higher energy density than conventional Ni/Cd batteries and Ni/MH batteries. In addition, lithium ion batteries can be manufactured in a small size and light weight, so they are used as a power source for mobile devices. Recently, the use range has been expanded as a power source for electric vehicles, and it is attracting attention as a next-generation energy storage medium.

When a fire occurs in a battery, the generated heat may propagate along the wireharness of the device in which the battery is mounted, leading to a larger fire. Since devices powered by batteries may be vulnerable to fire, a method of preventing the fire from spreading to devices powered by batteries is required when a fire occurs in a battery.

One object of the embodiments disclosed in this document is a fire prevention device capable of determining whether a fire has occurred in a battery and preventing the fire from spreading to a device receiving power from the battery based on the determined result, and operation thereof. is to provide a way

Technical problems of the embodiments disclosed in this document are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

A fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document is connected to a switch connected to a first line of a battery, a variable resistor connected to the switch, and a second line between the battery and a device receiving power from the battery, When the switch is short-circuited, whether or not a fire occurs in the battery is determined based on a fuse through which current flows through the variable resistor, a sensor for sensing information on a fire in the battery, and information on a fire in the battery, and the determination and a control unit controlling the switch and the variable resistance based on whether a fire occurs in the battery.

In one embodiment, the sensor may include at least one of an illuminance sensor and a flame detection sensor.

In an embodiment, the control unit may decrease a resistance value of the variable resistor and short the switch when it is determined that a fire in the battery has occurred.

In one embodiment, the fuse may disconnect the second line when a resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced and the switch is shorted.

In one embodiment, the first line may be a high voltage line of the battery and the second line may be a communication line.

In one embodiment, the fuse may be physically disconnected due to a current flowing in the high voltage line when a resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced and the switch is shorted.

In one embodiment, the switch may be connected between the variable resistor and the battery.

In one embodiment, the variable resistor may be connected between the switch and the battery.

A method of operating a fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document includes the steps of sensing information about a fire in a battery, determining whether a fire occurs in a battery based on the information about a fire in a battery, and the The method may include controlling a switch and a variable resistor based on whether or not a fire occurs in the battery.

In one embodiment, the step of controlling the switch and the variable resistor based on the determined whether or not a fire occurs in the battery may include reducing a resistance value of the variable resistor and shorting the switch when it is determined that a fire occurs in the battery. steps may be included.

In one embodiment, the switch is connected to a first line of the battery, the variable resistor is connected to the switch, a fuse is connected to a second line between the battery and a device receiving power from the battery, and the fuse A current may flow through the variable resistor when the switch is short-circuited.

In one embodiment, the method may further include disconnecting the second line by means of the fuse when the resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced and the switch is short-circuited.

A fire prevention device and method of operation thereof according to an embodiment disclosed in this document determine whether a battery fire occurs based on information on a battery fire, and power is supplied from the battery based on the determined battery fire occurrence. It is possible to prevent the spread of fire with a device supplied with .

A fire prevention device and method of operating the same according to an embodiment disclosed in this document, when it is determined that a fire has occurred in a battery, adjusts a variable resistance and shorts a switch to disconnect a fuse so that a fire in a battery supplies power from the battery. It can be prevented from propagating to the receiving device.

In addition to this, various effects identified directly or indirectly through this document may be provided.

1 is a diagram showing a device equipped with a battery according to an embodiment disclosed in this document.

2 is a block diagram showing a fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document, a battery, and a device receiving power from the battery.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document.

4 is a flowchart showing in detail an operating method of a fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computing system for performing a method of operating a fire prevention device according to an embodiment disclosed in this document.

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in this document will be described in detail through exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components have the same numerals as much as possible even if they are displayed on different drawings. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in this document, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function interferes with understanding of the embodiment disclosed in this document, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used to describe components of the embodiments disclosed in this document. These terms are only used to distinguish the component from other components, and the nature, order, or order of the corresponding component is not limited by the term. In addition, unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments disclosed in this document belong. . Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

Referring to FIG. 1 , a battery-equipped device 10 according to an embodiment disclosed in this document may include a battery 20, a device 30 receiving power from the battery, and a fire prevention device 100. there is.

The battery 20 may be connected to the device 30 receiving power from the battery. For example, the battery 20 may supply power to the device 30 receiving power from the battery. Depending on the embodiment, a fuse may be connected to a line where the battery 20 and the device 30 receiving power from the battery are connected.

The battery 20 may be connected to the fire prevention device 100 . For example, the battery 20 may be connected to the fire prevention device 100 through a high voltage line. Depending on the embodiment, the fire prevention device 100 may receive power from the battery 20 . According to another embodiment, the fire prevention device 100 may receive power from another power supply device different from the battery 20 .

The device 30 receiving power from the battery may include a plurality of

devices

31 , 32 , 33 , and 34 . In FIG. 1, the device 30 receiving power from the battery is illustrated as including four

devices

31, 32, 33, and 34, but is not limited thereto, and the device 30 receiving power from the battery is n It may include (n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1) devices. Depending on the embodiment, the device 30 receiving power from a battery may include a controller (eg, ECU, MCU) that performs various functions. In one embodiment, the device 30 receiving power from the battery may receive power from the battery 20, and if a fire occurs in the battery 20, a problem of propagation of the fire may occur.

When a fire occurs in the battery 20, the fire prevention device 100 can prevent the fire from propagating to the device 30 receiving power from the battery. For example, the fire prevention device 100 may sense information about a fire of the battery 20 and determine whether or not a fire occurs in the battery 20 based on the information about the fire of the battery 20 sensed. can do. When it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery 20, the fire prevention device 100 can physically disconnect the battery 20 from the device 30 receiving power from the battery, and thus the battery 20 It is possible to prevent a fire from spreading to the device 30 receiving power from the battery.

In the battery-equipped device 10 according to an embodiment disclosed in this document, when a fire occurs in the battery 20, the generated heat is supplied with power from the battery through a line connected to the device 30 receiving power from the battery. The fire prevention device 100 physically disconnects the line to which the battery and the device 30 receiving power from the battery are connected so that the fire prevention device 100 does not propagate to the device 30 receiving power from the battery, so that the fire generated in the battery 20 is powered by the battery. It is possible to prevent propagation to the receiving device 30.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the fire prevention device 100 according to an embodiment disclosed in this document may include a switch 110, a variable resistor 120, a fuse 130, a sensor 140, and a control unit 150. can In one embodiment, the fire prevention device 100 may be substantially the same as the fire prevention device 100 of FIG. 1, the battery 20 may be substantially the same as the battery 20 of FIG. 1, and the battery The device 30 receiving power from may be substantially the same as the device 30 receiving power from the battery of FIG. 1 .

The switch 110 may be connected to the battery 20 through the first line 40 . For example, the first line 40 may be a high voltage line of the battery 20 . The operation of the switch 110 may be controlled by the control unit 150 .

The variable resistor 120 may be connected to the switch. For example, the variable resistor 120 may be connected to the first line 40 like the switch 110 . The resistance value of the variable resistor 120 may be controlled (adjusted) by the control unit 150 .

Although the switch 110 is shown in FIG. 1 as being connected between the variable resistor 120 and the battery 20, it is not limited thereto. For example, the switch 110 may be connected between the variable resistor 120 and the fuse 130 .

The fuse 130 may be blown when a current greater than the rated current flows. The fuse 130 may be connected to the second line 50 connecting the battery 20 and the device 30 receiving power from the battery. In addition, the fuse 130 may be connected to the variable resistor 120 so that a current may flow through the variable resistor 120 when the switch 110 is short-circuited.

The sensor 140 may sense information about fire of the battery 20 . For example, the sensor 140 may include at least one of an illuminance sensor and a flame detection sensor. For another example, the sensor 140 may sense at least one of temperature, flame, light, current, voltage, and insulation resistance of the battery 20 . Depending on the embodiment, the sensor 140 may transfer sensed information about fire of the battery 20 to the control unit 150 .

The controller 150 may determine whether a fire occurs in the battery 20 based on information about a fire in the battery 20 . For example, the controller 150 may determine whether or not a fire occurs in the battery 20 based on at least one of information about fire of the battery 20 sensed by the sensor 140 .

The controller 150 may control the switch 110 and the variable resistor 120 . For example, the controller 150 may control the operation of the switch 110 and control (or adjust) the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 .

The controller 150 may control the switch 110 and the variable resistor 120 based on whether a fire occurs in the battery 20 . For example, when it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery 20 , the controller 150 can short-circuit the switch 110 and decrease the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 . Depending on the embodiment, the control unit 150 may decrease the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 so that a current greater than or equal to a rated current flows through the fuse 130 .

When the control unit 150 closes the switch 110 and reduces the resistance value of the variable resistor 120, current may flow through the first line 40 of the battery 20 through the fuse 130. Since the fuse 130 can disconnect the second line 50 when a high current flows, when the switch 110 is shorted and the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 is lowered, the high voltage line of the battery 20 A current higher than the rated current flows through the fuse 130 through the first line 40 , so that the connection of the second line 50 may be disconnected. Accordingly, the fuse 130 can disconnect the second line 50, which is a line connected to the device 30 receiving power from the battery, when it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery 20.

The fire prevention device 100 according to an embodiment disclosed in this document determines whether a fire has occurred in the battery 20 in the control unit 150 based on information about the fire of the battery 20 detected by the sensor 140. can judge When it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery 20, the control unit 150 shorts the switch 110 and reduces the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 so that a current greater than the rated current flows through the first line 40, thereby causing a fuse (130) can be disconnected. Therefore, in the fire prevention device 100, when a fire occurs in the battery 20, heat or fire propagates to the device 30 receiving power from the battery by disconnecting the second line 50 from the fuse 130. You can prevent it from happening.

The step of sensing information on the fire of the battery (S110), the step of determining whether a fire occurs in the battery based on the information on the fire of the battery (S120), and controlling the switch and the variable resistor based on the determined whether or not the fire occurs in the battery. It may include a step (S130) of doing.

In the step of sensing information on battery fire ( S110 ), the sensor 140 may sense information on battery fire. For example, the sensor 140 may include at least one of an illuminance sensor and a flame detection sensor. For another example, the sensor 140 may sense at least one of battery temperature, flame, light, current, voltage, and insulation resistance. Depending on the embodiment, the sensor 140 may transmit the sensed information about the fire of the battery to the control unit 150 .

In step S120 of determining whether or not the battery is on fire based on the information on the fire on the battery, the controller 150 determines whether or not the fire on the battery has occurred based on the information on the fire on the battery sensed by the sensor 140. can For example, the controller 150 may determine whether a fire has occurred in the battery based on at least one of temperature, flame, light, current, voltage, and insulation resistance of the battery.

In step S130 of controlling the switch and the variable resistor based on whether or not the battery is on fire, the controller 150 controls the switch 110 and the variable resistor 120 on the basis of the determined whether or not the battery is on fire. can For example, the controller 150 may control the operation of the switch 110 and control (or adjust) the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , when it is determined that a battery fire has occurred, reducing the resistance value of the variable resistor (S210), shorting the switch (S220), and when the resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced and the switch is short-circuited, the fuse may include disconnecting the second line (S230). In one embodiment, steps S210 and S220 may be included in step S130 of FIG. 3 .

In one embodiment, the switch 110 is connected to the first line of the battery, the variable resistor 120 is connected to the switch 110, and the fuse 130 is a second line between the battery and a device powered by the battery. A current may flow through the variable resistor 120 when the switch 110 is short-circuited in the fuse 130 .

In step S210 of reducing the resistance value of the variable resistor when it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery, the controller 150 can decrease the resistance value of the variable resistor when it is determined that a fire has occurred in the battery. For example, when the resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced, the load on the first line is reduced so that a current greater than or equal to a rated current may flow. According to embodiments, the first line may be a high voltage line of a battery.

According to an embodiment, in step S210 , the control unit 150 may adjust the size of the variable resistor so that a current greater than or equal to a rated current flows through the fuse 130 .

In the step of shorting the switch (S220), the control unit 150 may short the switch 110. For example, when the switch 110 is short-circuited, current may flow in the first line, and the current flowing in the first line may be applied to the fuse 130 .

When the resistance value of the variable resistor is reduced and the switch is short-circuited, in the step of disconnecting the second line by the fuse (S230), the fuse 130 reduces the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 and the switch 110 is short-circuited. In this case, the connection of the second line may be disconnected. For example, the fuse 130 may physically disconnect the second line when a high current flows, and thus the resistance value of the variable resistor 120 is reduced and a high current that shorts the switch 110 flows, thereby causing the fuse ( 130) may disconnect the second line. Depending on the embodiment, the second line may be a line (eg, a communication line or a power supply line) in which a battery and a device receiving power from the battery are connected.

Referring to FIG. 5 , a computing system 1000 according to an embodiment disclosed in this document may include an MCU 1010, a memory 1020, an input/output I/F 1030, and a communication I/F 1040. there is.

The MCU 1010 executes various programs stored in the memory 1020 (for example, a battery fire information sensing program, a battery fire determination program, a switch and variable resistance control program, etc.), It may be a processor that processes various types of information including information on fire of a battery through programs and performs functions of the fire prevention device shown in FIG. 2 described above.

The memory 1020 may store various programs related to battery log information collection and diagnosis. Also, the memory 1020 may store various types of information such as current or voltage of the battery pack.

A plurality of such memories 1020 may be provided as needed. The memory 1020 may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory 1020 as a volatile memory may be RAM, DRAM, SRAM, or the like. The memory 1020 as a non-volatile memory may be ROM, PROM, EAROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or the like. The examples of the memories 1020 listed above are merely examples and are not limited to these examples.

The input/output I/F 1030 connects an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, an output device such as a display (not shown), and the MCU 1010 to transmit and receive data. can provide.

The communication I/F 1040 is a component capable of transmitting and receiving various data to and from the server, and may be various devices capable of supporting wired or wireless communication. For example, the fire prevention device is a relay control program included in a battery pack or information such as current or voltage of various battery packs and information about whether a battery fire occurs from a separately prepared external server through a communication I/F (1040). can send and receive.

As such, the computer program according to an embodiment disclosed in this document is recorded in the memory 1020 and processed by the MCU 1010, so that, for example, it may be implemented as a module that performs each function shown in FIG. 2. there is.

The above description is only an illustrative example of the technical idea disclosed in this document, and those skilled in the art to which the embodiments disclosed in this document belong will be within the scope of the essential characteristics of the embodiments disclosed in this document. Many modifications and variations will be possible.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in this document are not intended to limit the technical idea disclosed in this document, but to explain, and the scope of the technical idea disclosed in this document is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of technical ideas disclosed in this document should be interpreted according to the scope of the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of this document.

Claims

a switch connected to the battery through a first line;

a variable resistor connected to the switch;

a second line connecting the battery and a device receiving power from the battery and a fuse connected to the variable resistor;

a sensor for sensing information on fire of the battery; and

A fire prevention device comprising a control unit controlling the switch and the variable resistance based on the information on the fire of the battery.
According to claim 1,

The control unit,

Determining whether or not a fire occurs in the battery based on the information on the fire of the battery, and controlling the operation of the switch and the size of the variable resistor based on the determined whether or not a fire occurs in the battery Device.
According to claim 2,

The control unit,

The fire prevention device, characterized in that for reducing the resistance value of the variable resistor and shorting the switch when it is determined that the fire of the battery has occurred.
According to claim 3,

The control unit,

Fire prevention device, characterized in that for reducing the resistance value of the variable resistor so that a current greater than the rated current flows through the fuse.
According to claim 1,

The fire prevention device, characterized in that the first line is a high voltage line of the battery and the second line is a communication line.
According to claim 1,

The switch is a fire prevention device, characterized in that connected between the variable resistor and the battery or between the variable resistor and the fuse.
According to claim 1,

The sensor,

A fire prevention device comprising at least one of an illuminance sensor and a flame detection sensor.
sensing information about a fire in a battery;

determining whether a fire occurs in the battery based on the information about the fire in the battery; and

controlling a switch and a variable resistor based on whether or not a fire occurs in the battery; Method of operating a fire prevention device comprising a.
According to claim 8,

The step of controlling the switch and the variable resistor based on the determined whether or not a fire occurs in the battery,

reducing a resistance value of the variable resistor when it is determined that a fire in the battery has occurred; and

shorting the switch; Method of operating a fire prevention device comprising a.
According to claim 9,

The step of reducing the resistance value of the variable resistor when it is determined that the fire of the battery has occurred,

A method of operating a fire prevention device, characterized in that for adjusting the size of the variable resistor so that a current greater than the rated current flows in the fuse.
According to claim 10,

disconnecting the second line by means of the fuse when the resistance value of the variable resistor decreases and the switch is short-circuited; Method of operating a fire prevention device characterized in that it further comprises.
According to claim 8,

The switch is connected to the battery through a first line, the variable resistor is connected to the switch, and the fuse is connected to a second line connecting the battery and a device receiving power from the battery and the variable resistor Method of operating a fire prevention device, characterized in that.